Halle Berry Loses Custody of Her Son: The Judge Gave It to Olivier Martinez After 13-Year-Old Maceo's Four Hours of Testimony

The court in Los Angeles has ruled: 13-year-old Maceo will live mainly with his father, French actor Olivier Martinez. On Thursday, 29 October, Judge Shelley Kaufman of the Los Angeles Superior Court granted him primary physical custody, barred Halle Berry from having the boy stay overnight, and ordered her to attend therapy together with her son.

The two were married from 2013 to 2016, and both are now 60. The divorce ended long ago; the war didn't. This round began when Martinez claimed Berry had choked their son during an argument at home on 26 September and made racist comments. She denies the accusations in the strongest terms.

At the centre of the case weren't the two Hollywood actors, but the child. Maceo testified for four hours, confidentially, with a school representative present. Berry opposed this: in a filing she described her son as "manipulated and indoctrinated" and argued he shouldn't testify. According to her, the only adult eyewitness to the incident was her partner Van Hunt.

Nahla Aubry, Berry's daughter with former partner Gabriel Aubry, also joined the dispute. A filing on her behalf states that she has lived with Maceo and their mother for almost his entire life, that Martinez dismissed those witnesses, and that the boy's testimony was given greater weight. It also says that Maceo, who is neurodivergent, spent the two weeks beforehand mostly with his father, who talked to him about the accusations and the testimony.

Martinez, according to his lawyers, is "very happy", and the child is safe with him. He told Extra magazine he hopes Maceo and his mother can build a better relationship: he doesn't want his son to hate his mother and wants them to reconcile one day. Berry's lawyer said she remains focused on the wellbeing of the family.

Hollywood likes to present cases like this as a clash between two stars. But when a 13-year-old sits in front of a judge for four hours while it's decided whose house he'll sleep in, who exactly won? And did anyone ask what will be left of that boy once the cameras leave?